Daughter of the White Tiger
by Ghost-Drive
Summary: A girl, an exorcist, a famed figure told in tales. A boy, a mass murderer, whose name would scare innocent children. Generations passed- the girl had forgotten him- and when they meet again, he tried to bring "the old her" back. But was it necessary?
1. Prologue

**Notice:** Daughter of the White Tiger is going under a reconstruction. This include several character changes, (you'll see one-two of them right in this chapter), change of arrangement in major plot points, and a "somewhat" romance-driven story. Not exactly romance, but bits and pieces of that was added.

The old story was... deleted. I want to move on and recreate it from only the plot points, not the whole text.

Thank you very much for the reviewers of the old version: **YiPrincess, Chibi Vampire Alexa, Kitty, Kamal.S, firedove, MimiKathy, Mizuki Kagamine, not telling, and a (really) nameless anonymous reviewer**. Your motivations are what had driven me this far. If you all weren't out there, I'd really scrap this story.

_Do you believe in 'reincarnation'?_

_The belief that one will be reborn even after his death..._

"So, isn't it the time of your reincarnation?"

A woman donning long, blonde hair mused, standing in front of an adolescent- who had hair much shorter and slightly darker than hers. He was forced to kneel in front of her, his hands and feet chained together with steel.

"It seems your punishment period has ended for now," she added, bowing and lifting the younger one's chin with her sleek fingers. "It's a shame- I had actually wanted to play with you a little longer, you see- you're one of the few that didn't went insane,"

She then trailed her fingers along his neck, down his toned shoulders and to his upper arm. She clawed at the flesh and let her fingers catch the dripping blood, licking at the liquid with pleasure. "A pity, really- you have been my toy for three hundred and fifty years, that's ten times other people's punishment here." she paused after that sentence, savoring the flavor of his blood, and the blank, slightly uninterested expression plastered on his face. "Your sin must be ten times of other people, too!"

"I don't care of the things you speak of," the boy said, eyes devoid of any emotion drilling at the woman's figure. But then he stopped, his eyes gaining a slight glint of hope. "But is that true, that 'she' has reincarnated?"

Now this had poked the woman's interest. This man usually would not talk about anything, only holding down his urges to scream even when she was slicing his skin with a rusted knife. But whenever they were speaking of 'that girl', this boy would be filled with anticipation, even hope.

She hated that look of hope. She hated it coming from anybody. It was her joy seeing people writhe and scream in pain, she was like that as long as she remembered. And she sure had lived longer than any 'visitor' of this place.

Yet that rarely surfacing look on his face had piqued her so much, that she was more interested seeing it than ruining it.

"The Princess, you mean?" she asked. He nodded, silently. His eyes were drilling into hers, trying to force her to blurting everything out. That was a reason she hated her toy. But playing with a tougher toy was a lot more fun than playing with weaklings. "-long since reincarnated, maybe for the fourth time. I'd say it was fourteen years ago"

That shocked look that ruined his calm composure was priceless. Even though it was just for a brief moment before it dissolved back into the expressionless façade he always wore. "Hey, it's not that everyone's as sinful as you that they will be punished for centuries!" she added, trying to teach logic to the younger one. "Maybe, no, definitely she has forgotten about you already, no need to fuss over it!"

"About her forgetting about me... maybe it was my karma," he replied, his tone a little bit broken. She could tell he was putting too high a hope. Then it came crumbling down like a landslide.

"But, I will not ever forget about her,"

That was unexpected. She could not help but smile, her inner instincts are bringing her to laugh at this person's stubbornness. He was unexpectedly stupid beyond her imagination- stubborn, selfish, and most of all, naïve.

"Some big mouth you have there," she commented, holding back a laugh. "When you're reborn, you'll forget about her anyway, the same as she forgot about you- it's the fate of human beings!"

"I know, that's as certain as water being liquid," he replied, the faintest of smile decorating his face. "And so I have reached upon myself a conclusion."

The woman stopped and perked up at this, this boy haven't been this talkative, not once in her three hundred years torturing him. "Do you have any brilliant idea then, Mr. Enstein-brain?"

"Can I ask of not being reincarnated?"

She froze. Then a flat what escaped her mouth.

"I'm serious, Lily." He said, referring to the woman's name. "Only you can do this. If I were to speak to the creator myself, I'll have my punishment doubled. But if **you** spoke to him, there's a chance that he'll grant it."

The woman gritted her teeth, losing her cool. This human actually had the nerve to...!

"Listen well, little boy!" She bellowed. "You- are- **human**. You have no rights against the creator, moreover breaking his ultimate rule!"

She paused, again lifting the boy's chin- this time with more force applied. "Or you want to throw away your humanity and become the same as me?"

She glared daggers at the boy's eyes. If looks could kill, they would be killing each other right now. His eyes were filled with such determination, something she had not seen before. Not even in years. It was as if she was staring at a completely different person.

"I will not regret anything- I have to repay my debt to her- I don't care if I will be your eternal servant afterwards,"

It was something else- saying that with a straight face. There was a reason that her domain was feared- why the place called "hell" was nightmare in the human world. Why people was driven insane even after only months. That was enough for people to despise this place, and he said he was ready to live here for an eternity?

"I was wrong..." she muttered. "You may have not shown it- but you have certainly gone insane!"

When she looked at him once more, his eyes were indeed one of a crazy man.

"If you were to call me insane, I can say I was indeed insane, even before I met you here." She was frozen at the sight. She could see it through his eyes, the multitude of souls screaming in pain. She could feel death through it. She had never studied about his past- but by looking at his eyes, she was sure that he was once a murderer- more clearly, a psychopath. If she was a human, she was sure to cower of fear under his gaze.

"H-how long have you hiding this?" She could feel her voice tremble- She have never seen a human having those eyes. Maybe she had seen them on her kind, but never on a human. "Now that I look at you, I would not question myself why you were punished for three centuries!"

"All the time," His eyes returned into the normal, slightly expressionless ones. "So? What about my request?"

"Whatever you say!" She replied, gritting her teeth in frustration. "But I will not receive any regrets- this place is not for that!"

"Fine by me."

"...che!"

**A/N:** Well, that's for the prologue. Not as long as the former prologue (which was... 4000 words. Wow.) But I still think this is quite interesting to see. Now if you can guess who was that nameless boy... no, that's pretty obvious who that was.

If you don't know 'what' Lily is, then I failed descriptions- and dialogues.

Nonetheless, I hope I have improved in terms of writing. Nah, but I'm still not the best writer around.

Please review, so that I can improve this more, and more, and more! You know the way- press that review button, insert things you like / you don't like, insert random blabbers and improvement guidelines. I'll read through them all and try to reply, so don't hesitate!

Oh, if you don't like it, feel free to flame. I'll read it of course, and then reply as polite as possible.


	2. Slice One: ReIncarnate

Chapter 2 is finally here! Phew, I managed to get through the final exam... harmed or not, I don't know for sure... let's hope not. I don't want to be a sitting duck.

Thank you for the reviewers: **The Curious Sisters** (Akuma and Hikari... am I spelling that right?) and **Twingkly'Zaa-chan**. Thank you very much for the motivations!

Also for those who had added this to the favorite stories/ story alerts list: **Twingkly'Zaa-chan**, **angel1210005** and **vocal-maiden**. Once again, this story is made of your love.

Thank you very much! *bows*

Note: It seems has a habit of deleting dividers if they are not in html format... is that true? Or there are other "tolerated" file formats?

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><p>Summer vacations are the best especially at their festival moments. Staying up until night, going to the multiple stores and wearing your favorite traditional clothes- at least those were what most children and teenagers think. Kagamine Rin is definitely one of the teenagers who share the same thoughts- she seemed so absorbed trying to get herself a pretty goldfish in one of the stands- a net on one hand and a plastic bag filled with water on the other.<p>

Her friend, Amane Megumi, was also enjoying the same festival- but she seemed to be enjoying her cotton candy more than catching goldfishes.

"Finished yet, Rin?" she asked, biting happily at the sweet. "We're going to the best attraction in this place yet!"

"What best attraction?" the blonde asked back, carefully eyeing the fishes before swiping her net at a black goldfish, dropping it into a water-filled plastic bag and wrapping it up, giving some money to the stand attendant. Then, she showed the fish to Gumi. "Look! Isn't it just so cute?"

"Hmm, it's quite adorable," Gumi answered. "But you're going to release it anyway, right?"

"Uh... yeah..." Rin actually didn't want to release it- it was too cute. But if she kept it, it would die anyway...

"Then let's go! The place I'm talking about is not very far from the river, I think." With that said- Gumi grabbed her friend's right arm and made a beeline for the river. They walked across the sea of people in a pretty fast pace, sometimes bumping into someone with a "sorry" and an "excuse me".

"Whoa, no pulling please!" Rin mouthed a protest, but it seemed to be in vain as Gumi didn't seem to stop. "I don't want to drop the goldfish!"

"Don't worry- this is going to be fun!" She replied, tugging at the sleeve of Rin's red yukata- there seemed to be no intention for her to stop. Not long after they arrived at the bank of the river, right in front of...

...the cemetery...

"W-wait, Gumi..." Rin trailed off, her voice trembling. "You don't mean...?"

"Yep- the best part of summer festivals: night challenges!" Gumi explained. "Going together with a friend or a couple and walking through the forbidden cemetery paths. Who knows what we will find! Isn't that so romantic~?"

"I don't get your sense of romance, sometimes..." Rin retorted, then she knelt down to the riverbank to release the goldfish into the water. It circled around for a while, before turning tail and swimming into the deeper part of the river. "You expect to find ghosts or something? You know it's not true..." she was desperately trying to hide the scared tone on her voice, but she failed at that.

"Ooh, so Rin's a fraidy-cat not wanting to go to the cemetery merely for a leisure walk?" Gumi teased, earning a glare from her blonde friend. "Yeah, sure, I can understand that..."

"Screw you..." she hissed, getting up. "I'm afraid of no ghosts! Bring it on!"

Oh, how she regretted saying that.

"That's the Rin I know! Come on, the cemetery's waiting for us!" the green-haired girl cheered, before grabbing into her hand once more and going into the entrance of the cemetery, where she paid for a lantern to light the way. Rin argued for a flashlight instead of a lantern, but Gumi had insisted that it was more romantic'.

Again, Gumi and her weird perspective of romance- but it was the same Gumi who had pulled her into this...

Rin had no choice but to give in and follow her inside. When they crossed the main entrance though, the blonde immediately grabbed her friend's hand like it was her own life. Gumi led the way with the lantern in front of them, her wooden sandals clicking against the ground beneath.

Rin's eyes checked its surroundings wildly. It would turn right, left, up, down, front... to find only darkness, maybe flashes of light from other people bringing their lanterns or flashlights. So far, she had seen no ghost- which was something Rin was really thankful about.

Then, halfway through the forbidding landscape, they were met with a dividing road. On both sides, they could see tombstones lining up. Rin almost trembled, and was trying hard to keep her composure. But something, a name from one of the tombstones, had attracted her attention that she almost forgot that she was in the cemetery.

"Hmm... which way should we go...?" Gumi asked, only to find that Rin had released her hold and was examining a certain tombstone. "Rin?" she asked- silence. "Rin, can you hear me?"

"Gumi, can you lend me that lantern, please?" Rin asked, her eyes still plastered on the certain tombstone. Gumi hesitated for a bit, but handed the lantern to her anyway- also moving to the right out of curiosity.

With the lantern on her hand, she put it over the tombstone- it was filled with moss and an unhealthy amount of dust was layering its surface- it must have been very old. One have to wonder why haven't this spot been replaced by another grave.

"It's just an old grave." Gumi gave the stone another look. "Well, it's quite ancient-looking..."

"No, not that" Rin replied, "Look at this," she swiped the excessive dust on the nameplate with her hand, revealing names- two names.

"Here rests Rui Kagene, Daughter of the White Tiger, and Len Kagamine, black dragon incarnate...?" Gumi read the nameplate aloud. "Well they have interesting titles, but this sounds like bullshit to me,"

"...Wait." Rin turned her head to the green-haired girl, a shocked look apparent on her face. "What did you just say, Gumi?"

"What part?" Gumi asked. "They have interesting names... wait a second. The second name was... Len Kagamine? Rin, is this a grave of your ancestor or something?"

"I don't remember paying a visit to this grave..." Rin muttered, "So... just who the hell this grave belongs to?"

"Don't ask me, I'm completely clueless about this!" Gumi argued, snatching back the lantern and continuing on the path... "Let's just continue the path; dwelling on this won't solve anything- and not even the least bit romantic."

Rin could not agree more to that- and so she decided to forget about it- even it was actually bugging on her mind like a pile of sugar for an ant...

Then she felt her head hitting something hard. Losing balance, she toppled backwards, holding into her hurting head. Actually, the impact had hurt more than it should, it was as is her forehead was being knocked by a hammer continuously. Between the surges of pain, came a blurred image as if coming from a broken television. In front of her sight was a girl in her kimono, donning black hair...

_"So, is this the one? The boy who have murdered hundreds by himself..."_

"Who... are you...?" She hissed, trying to hold the pain. The figure did not answer, instead the scene continued unfolding, as if a bad cinema movie, scratching and hissing every now and then, continuing until Rin felt a violent shake on her shoulders.

"Rin- are you alright?" asked a very worried Gumi. "You just hit that tree and you started hissing to yourself!"

Rin stopped holding into her head- though she was still panting heavily. "Yeah, I'm alright, Gumi... don't worry about me..."

"You don't look that healthy to me..." the green-haired girl commented. "Let's just get you home. Fun things come after safety,"

Rin nodded, and they immediately walked back to the Kagamine Household. Gumi stepped forward and pressed the bell. ~Ding! Ding! Ding!~

"You don't really need to press the bell, Gumi... it's my house and I can go in myself..." Rin said as she reached for the door knob. "And I think mom should be asleep by now,"

"And leave you with the chance of toppling over your own stairs? I'd rather ensure your safety, Rin." Gumi pressed a hand on Rin's right shoulder. "That's what a friend is for, right?"

"I guess you're right..." the blonde replied with a weak smile.

Without Rin touching it, the knob turned and the front door opened, revealing a man with cobalt blue hair and eyes. "Rin, you're back," he greeted with a smile. "Oh, and Gumi is here too?" he looked at Gumi, the same smile adorning his face. "Sorry if my daughter Rin is a bother,"

"No, she's not a bother at all, Mr. Kagamine!" the green-haired girl said, before turning around. "I'll see you later, Rin. Get a proper rest for now,"

"Will do," Rin replied, waving to her. Then he turned to the direction of her room. "Sorry, dad... I think I need some sleep..."

"It's fine, have a good night, sweetheart," Kaito answered, ruffling her hair. Then he watched her making a march for her room upstairs. He grabbed a newspaper and turned the television on a news program. After five minutes of reading, he finally turned into the front door.

"Whoever's waiting on the front door can come in now, I don't bite," he said, returning to the TV show.

There was a brief, heavy silence before a voice answered him.

"...you can see me?" it asked. Kaito kept reading, but let out a small laugh.

"Of course not, I'm no Psychic," he replied. "I just can feel it. Call it a father's instinct- I don't even know where you are now, behind, beside, above, or even in front of me,"

"For the record, I'm sitting beside you now," The voice replied. Kaito smiled, and then started shuffling on the channels. "You're not scared?" it asked.

"If you meant any harm... Rin would be screaming now and my wife would definitely beat you up," he answered, cringing at the imagination. "So feel free to stay, but when morning comes it's all up to my wife,"

"Such a weird person..."

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><p>That marks the end of chapter 1. Chapter 2 will include some hilarity issues. XD<p>

If you haven't guessed who the nameless boy was, that guy is... the same guy who was talking with Kaito. Or am I making things more complicated? XD

One more notice: **BETA NEEDED FOR THIS STORY**. Someone to remind me to keep writing and to check my grammar and plotline, making sure it's enjoyable. Anyone up for the job please tell me!

Don't forget the review button is eagerly waiting for your click, readers!


	3. Slice Two: ReUnion

Thank you for waiting- now we have the latest chapter of the fan-fiction for reading! I am very happy that I have a beta now- say hello to **Sweet Lolita Kisses**, whose stories I recommend for those who is above legal age. Some of her stories is not M-rated, too!

Thank you very much for reviewers, **ruuya, The Curious Sisters, **and **Sweet Lolita Kisses.** lots of love for you guys, hope to see you in the near future.

Thank you too for those who have put this story into their favorites/alerts list- hope this story is woth your time reading.

enough chitter-chatter: Let's get reading~

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><p>Morning.<p>

That's the word being used when we are mentioning about the time period between the sun rising over the horizon, and the time meant that the sun shines above all. Generally people would use that to tell whether it is morning or not, but this applied differently to Rin:

The thing that reminded her that it was really morning was the blaring of her alarm clock.

The blonde groaned while shifting below the cover of her blanket, lifted her right hand to reach for the clock, and with a loud "Thwack!" shut the little noisy thing up. With sleepy eyes she stared at the clock- which showed half past eight, and with a yawn woke up to do the usual morning ritual: make the bed, have a shower, then brush the teeth.

She walked, still with a sleepy face, to the kitchen and pulled out a jar of orange marmalade from the fridge, before taking two slices of bread and jamming it into the toaster.

What a noisy morning, she thought, hearing what sounds like a heated debate in the living room. It might be of her mother's work anyway, so she need not care. But curiosity got the better of her, so as soon as the toast was done she spread the marmalade across its surface and walked into the living room, meant toast resting on her mouth.

"Good morning, Mom... Dad..." She said lazily before taking another bite from her marmalade bun. Someone else was there, a person she has never seen before, looking at her in an expression of pure surprise. He was wearing a kimono, and has blonde hair... blue eyes... maybe a cousin who was paying a visit...? "May I have your name?" She offered her hand, trying to maintain a sweet smile on her face and ignoring the continuous stare he was giving her. She looked more carefully at his clothes, and saw that there was something off about it, something very off. "And unless you are a dead person, I suggest you put the left side in front next time you use a kimono"

"Uh, you see... I... it's hard to explain..." The boy replied her comment with much hesitation; his gaze broke from Rin's face, shifting away from her and into the floor.

The next time she looked at her parents her mother had a shocked look on her face and her father was practically gaping.

"Listen, Rin..." her mother, Neru, had slapped her face when she started talking. "If you're talking about the clothes, he's actually wearing it the right way,"

Rin gulped, her eyes moving repeatedly between her parents and the mysterious boy in disbelief, bile surfacing on her throat and going down again. Her body was shivering, and with extra caution she pointed at the boy. "So, he's dead?"

The boy nodded.

Still not believing it, she turned her head at her mother, her heart pulsing in an erratic pace as the colors were drained from her face. "Then... what am I seeing now?"

Neru, being the very direct person that she is, spent no time in making her statement to be more relaxing for her daughter; so, she plainly said, "A ghost, no more or less."

"I'm actually quite surprised that you can see him, though..." Kaito added. "If I didn't hear the voices myself, I would have thought that your mother was having an illusion of some sort."

At that time the colors had completely drained out of Rin's head and her heart temporarily stopped. Next was a scream that escaped her throat, threatening to bust all the windows and mirrors in the vicinity. Her parents and 'the ghost' immediately covered their ears to prevent them from blasting off. And after that there was a silence, with nobody knowing what to say and who to speak.

"So you really can see this thing..." Neru said with a sigh, rubbing her head as if hit by a sudden headache.

"I must protest and say that I'm not a 'thing'..."

"Shut the trap up! I'm not talking to you, boy!" she snapped, sending glares as sharp as the glinting daggers.

Rin was utterly confused. It was as if the topic was both involving her, and leaving her out in the blue. So after a small time of thinking, Rin nodded her head. "But I never seen one before, ever..."

"That's..." her father said, still covering his ears, "Predictable, seeing your reaction. If you had been seeing 'them' from when you were little, you won't even be surprised,"

"So, small matters aside." Neru gave a hardened glare at the ghost, "This is no spirit sanctuary. Unless you have matters you need to do, you better get out."

"Will or will not I have a purpose here, it depends on the girl over there," he said, pointing his finger at Rin. "After all, I came here after following her,"

"What did I do to deserve this...?" the meant girl groaned, cursing her fate for a while. "What do you want from me and why, but especially who are you? I gave you my name earlier and if you have any manners, you should give me yours,"

"Then I'm really sorry for being so impolite," the ghost bowed down, so low that his body made a 90 degrees angle against his legs. "I go by the name of Kagamine Len,"

Hearing that, the whole living room fell silent. Kaito was most of all piqued and interested, Rin was gaping like a goldfish which had just jumped out of its aquarium, when Neru...

She stood up, pulling out several pieces of paper from her pocket, which Rin recognized were almost identical to the charmed papers usually put on shrine walls to ward off evil. "So... an insolent ghost broke into the house and claimed to be a member of the family?" she spoke in a low tone, imaginary flames burning over her figure, holding the charmed paper tight. "This is so going to be a fine urban legend,"

"Wait a second! I can explain this!" the ghost, Len, shouted, waving his hands on denial to the idea of charmed papers being attached into his body- to hear someone else shouting the exact same words as him at the exact same time- it was Rin, who had run over to them and put her hand between Neru and him.

"Mom, I know that a housewife attacking a guest just because of his name might also be a fine topic in the cyberspace, so please stop this stupidity, now," she said, lowering her hand and letting her adrenaline rate drop down.

There was a silence there, a pretty heavy one. Rin's mother was almost burning with fury not too long ago, but she finally pocketed her charmed papers and sat back down, still fixing an angered gaze at Len. "Fine, I was going to make you suffer a bit, but because Rin asked me not to I won't do it,"

"I appreciate that, thank you very much." Len returned a solemn look.

"Enough that, get explaining," she replied in a bored tone.

"Maybe I should go first," Rin said, trying to recollect what had happened the night before. "When I went to the festival with Gumi yesterday, we found a gravestone- with the name Rui Kagene and Len Kagamine carved on it. So if this is the Len Kagamine from that grave, and he's really following me, He's not faking his name. That solves the family name thing."

"Well, I can tolerate the family name thing for now, and it seems that you aren't lying, Rin." Neru's eyes, travelled to Len, who immediately tensed up. "But, that still didn't explain why this ghost stalked his way to our house,"

Rin can't help but nod at this. Even though he doesn't seem very harmful despite a sword that was strapped to his waist, there was no reason not to question that. She wanted to know.

"Where should I start...?" Len muttered, rubbing his head. "It's an extremely long story..."

"Just get to the point, we don't have the time to listen to your life story," Neru interrupted, sipping on a glass of tea.

"Long story made short, I was searching for Rui Kagene, the girl you mentioned earlier." Len finally said, but that statement only raised confusion.

"But..." Rin answered, "Isn't she, like, died about several hundred years ago? The gravestone was even covered in a blanket of moss and dust!"

"Exactly- she died at that time, and so did I. But I wasn't looking for her in person – but her reincarnation,"

Everyone fell silent, each person bearing different expression – from solemn to pure shock. But one thing was clear: everyone was piqued about it. Len slowly turned around to face Rin, kneeling down in front of her.

"Rin Kagamine... your way of acting and speaking, and moreover the color of your spirit, they matched with that of lady Rui's"

"Then what do you want with me? Be your wife or something?"

"Interesting choice..." he replied with a slightly haughty smile, making Rin blush bright red from his brave-but-irritating answer. "But I wouldn't think of something as insolent as that. I only wish to serve you like the life before- to let me become your protector- maybe a sort of guardian spirit."

At that time, Rin's mind refused to differ whether this is reality, or merely a weird dream. In the confusion, she chose the easy but risky choice instead of the safe one- playing along the flow.

"Fine, if that is what you want." Len looked up after hearing this, he wasn't smiling but the look on his face immediately showed his happiness. Rin fixed a glare on him, putting her hand together with a loud clap. "But I have my rules, and you are to obey, o lowly servant!"

"Yes, my lady- as you wish it to be,"

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><p>Useful things to know:<p>

*People use kimono with the left part in the front. The only occasion they would use it otherwise is when that person is dead and it's his/her funeral.

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><p>Thank you for reading! I hope this story proves satisfying enough.<p>

Critiques? Comments? Wishes? click the review button below and you're set to go!


	4. Slice Three: ReSort

***This version of the chapter has not been beta-read. please read at your own risk***

Sorry for the lateness, people. I'm very sorry. I had accidentally tossed the the poor notebook into the water and... it broke. short-circuitted to be precise. So I haven't been able to type for the last month's worth.

Thank you for the dear reviewers! **Sweet Lolita Kisses, CuriousSisters, Seinakyou, AngelMage123, Toan Daxland, **and **vocal-maiden. **nothing feels as good as a good review. Reviews are not the base motivation to write, but they sure give a pleasure boost.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So... let's start with some questions, shall we?" Rin was sitting on the couch with one leg over another, imitating the fashion of some sort of corporeal manager. "We have some private time because both mom and dad are off to work." The blonde girl was obviously sizing him up, looking at him from head to toe, arching her eyebrows and keeping a neutral expression.

If anything had crossed the mind of the ghost regarding of the current situation, it would be the uncanny similarities between it and an interrogation room's.

"First question: you're really sure you're up to the task of being my bodyguard?"

"Yes." It didn't took too much of a time for him to answer that question.

"Then what are you capable of?" Rin read some books that have this kind of question; and usually it was hard to answer. This question was not only to test the bare abilities of the person- it's more to a test of heart, to determine one's confidence. She was curious on how a ghost would answer to such a question.

Meanwhile, Len cannot help but smile inwardly; the question was all too familiar for him. He remembered an almost identical situation when he was asked that question. At first, thinking of an answer was hard. But because he had experience, it wasn't very troublesome answering it.

"What I am capable of is not for me to say, but yours to decide."

Rin's eyes twitched hearing that. He was answering the question in the best way possible, all the way without being rude, but Rin cannot help but feel a little bit insulted. He was a boy, after all, but isn't he being a little bit too sissy just trying to be humble? But she decided that protesting would be of no benefit, so she decided to move to the next phase in the interrogation.

"If that's true… time for a practical question." She tapped her fingers on the table. "Let's say I'm suddenly attacked by a bunch of thugs, with nobody else but you in the vicinity…" she could see the ghost flinch while she was speaking. "What will you do to save me, being the bodyguard you are supposed to be?"

A silence then fell between the two. Rin was waiting rather impatiently for the ghost to answer, looking at her watch - which showed nine o'clock, about fifteen minutes before Gumi had promised she would come.

Len seemed to be in some sort of deep thought, contemplating the choices he had. Knocking them out via sword would be useless because he cannot touch them, ripping their souls seemed to be too brutal of a choice…

"So I guess you have finally found an answer?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow. She cannot wait too long only for a single question.

"Let me go over it again…" Len replied for another chance to think, but stopped when he saw a bored frown coming from the blonde girl. "I think I got an answer."

"Please do tell."

"I will possess the strongest-looking of them, have him incapacitate the rest of the thugs and then forcibly knock himself out."

"Taking advantage of your state as a ghost… that's acceptable…" Rin muttered. She guessed it was quite a good idea. Being a creature without a physical form would mean that he couldn't take the threats physically. And controlling the strongest adversary to take out the rest was… uncannily like a video game tactic, but if it's applicable in real life she couldn't care less. "Well it suits you because your anorexic body wouldn't be able to beat them all if the thugs are as big and burly as I imagined." She added with a smirk.

Rin knew that was both a lie and an insult. First Len didn't look like an anorexic, and his shoulders were broad enough for some muscles to exist, even though covered by his kimono. And the second part, the insult, was the fact that he was carrying a sword; she read in occult books Gumi forced her into that spirits will only bring things that matter a lot to them. If that sword matters a lot to him, that would mean that he had received training in the way of swords. And… she had supposed that it would be quite easy beating some burly thugs if you know how to handle a sword.

_-knock! Knock!-_

"That should be Gumi," Rin stood up from the sofa and rummaged her pocket for the front door's key, trying to ignore the curious gaze Len gave her. "Don't stare at me like that, Gumi's my friend. Though her words can be rather strange, she's a pretty good person."

"Strange? What kind of strange do you mean?"

"Rin, you better open the door now or I'll drag you into a date, just the two of us!" said the voice from the direction of the front door.

"Well… that kind of strange. I don't want to go to the further details." Rin muttered, keeping her voice low so that her friend won't hear that she was talking about the green-haired girl. Then she turned into the front door, shouting something to notice her friend that she was about to open the door.

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"So, where is this 'wonderful place' you're talking about, Gumi?"

The two were now walking down the streets of Momone Town, along the commercial district. Len had insisted to follow her like the bodyguard he was acting as, so she had let him tag along… just because he could not be seen by other people. Imagining the chaos that would ensue if someone could see him as a ghost was only giving Rin a headache. But to her, at least, except the weird, curious feeling she felt around him, he looked just like a human; a solid human with foot, who needs to walk to get around…, or perhaps he's walking to reduce awkwardness between him and Rin?

"You see, a café had just opened recently around here, and they are giving a generous discount this week! Eating together with a friend and strengthen our bonds… romantic, isn't it?" the green-haired girl answered. "Besides, we need a rest from all the horrors yesterday and you can't possibly get hurt in a café."

"Thanks for worrying about me," Rin said, "Don't expect me to say anything sugar-coated and romantic in the café though."

Besides, Rin cannot protest about the horror. Even though she is admittedly scared of ghosts, she pretty much bought the trouble for herself. But knowing that ghosts aren't as what she had imagined, Rin was relieved, too. As she read, 'Fear comes from misunderstanding'- and this was one of the examples.

"Eh- why?" Gumi protested, trying to pull a pout. "But you're a pro at saying those sweet things!"

"It's a prerequisite for surviving in this harsh world, Gumi. You have to know what to say to people under the right circumstances to get them do what you want them to do." Rin explained, "It's not really a plaything. The professionals can even make people go against their own morals. You want me to make you a lesbian over me?"

"Eww… no!" Gumi exclaimed, putting up a face of disgust. "Not that far, Rin; but seriously, you should become a psychiatrist or something like that! Remember when you just talked your way against an upperclassman and brought him to shame?"

"Nope." Rin stuck her tongue out.

"Oh, well…" Gumi checked her surroundings and immediately stopped. "Ah, there it is!" she pointed to a building by the left.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Rin narrowed her eyes at the sight of the peach-and-pink building with cake-house decorations. Not to mention the people standing in front of the door, bowing to every passenger. "A maid café of all things, Gumi? Am I just thinking awful things or are you associated with the lowlifes going here every day to satisfy their sick imaginations?"

"What? Lowlifes? Stop talking in cryptic language, Rin. You sound like some mad scientist or something." Gumi put her hands along her waistlines. "You really do sound smart in that language, but you're not making any sense as a result."

"You know what I mean, Gumi… those people who had given up their real lives and decided to pursue pleasure through things that are unreal? Starting with 'o' and ending with 'u'?"

"Yeah… I know… even though how you said that was pretty mean…" the green-haired girl hung her head dejectedly. "I only come here for the foods, though… they have awesome montblancs!"

Somehow, that statement alone was enough to convince Rin to go inside the place she almost loathed. Or "Screw the people, the important thing is the food and the chat," as she told herself so. Even after they entered the café and one of the waiters dressed as a maid led them to their table, the blonde girl had tried to tell herself that there was no one staring at her in an improper manner.

Seeing Len keeping watch with his hands on the handle of his sword was not any relaxation either- it only served to make her more nervous. She had the urge to ask Len of the situation- she had not dared to check by herself- but if Gumi or anyone else noticed- she would be welcomed to the group… the group of… the group of something Rin would rather not talk about.

"Rin, why are you fidgeting? Everyone here is minding their own business." Gumi said through curiosity. Sitting on the chair they were led to. "Being so discriminative won't help you achieve anything; I thought I told you that many times."

"I know…" those words were directed more to Rin herself than as a reply to Gumi's words.

"Ah, forget the depressing stuffs- let's just order ourselves some tasty stuff!" the green-haired girl scanned through the colorful, attractive menu with photos of mouth-watering cakes and pastries, not to mention the equally delicious-looking drinks. Choosing from them will be a hard time…

Indeed, choosing from them was pretty confusing. Gumi immediately chose her favorite Montblanc when Rin ended up with a cinnamon roll she picked out at random. Not that she regretted it… the pastry was actually quite delicious.

"Hey, Rin…" Gumi whispered. Rin immediately shifted her attention to her- Gumi usually would speak as if she had no indoor voice. For her to keep her voice down so low… there must be something going on, something serious.

Rin took a look at the Montblanc her friend had ordered. It was barely even touched- Gumi only nibbled on some of the chestnut cream. If Gumi was at her usual mood, the cake would had been gone since the moment it was served.

"You see, that man over there?"

Gumi was pointing at a man with dark chocolate hair and a pair of glasses, sipping on a cup of coffee while keeping himself busy typing on his laptop. Rin arched her eyebrows. At least that was one sane man, not to mention her was pretty good-looking, "Yeah…"

"So… what do you think about him?" The green-haired girl looked at her Montblanc, too nervous to meet by Rin's eyes. She was nervous, that part was clear, but Rin was quite surprised she was actually acting nervous over a boy. Maybe it was time already for her to hit puberty…

"He was… decent. Pretty good looking, don't seem like a bad person." Rin couldn't add any more words. Praising him too much would ignite jealousy; one wrong word would insult Gumi.

"Decent, huh…" Gumi sighed, as if expecting Rin to say more. "Well, he's a regular costumer here, so I see him every week or so, but I don't know if I really should try and speak with him…" she sighed again, starting to cut her Montblanc into tiny little pieces and putting it into her mouth.

"I think you should. I don't think he'd be of bad influence." Rin took a sip from her milkshake. "As I mentioned before, he seems to be a good guy." Why not help Gumi if she is indeed attracted to a boy? Even though she swore he must be at least in the university…

Their visit to the café had ended at 4 P.M. sharp. Gumi told Rin that she had to go home and decide while clearing up her mind- and she also told the blonde-haired girl to prepare for the upcoming school trip one week from the current time.

And for that reason, Rin had decided to go to her friend's shop; for the supplies, and for some consultation. Nekomura Iroha and Mizki will have to prepare for a usual guest and an unusual guest…

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Some useful things to know:

Montblanc (alternatively spelled Mont Blanc (White Mountain)) - is a dessert made of chestnuts. There are two kinds of Montblancs; the ones served in Europe is chestnut puree served with whipping cream as a drink with the whipping cream shaped like a white cone; thus earning its name. The ones served in Japan, also known as Monburan (which is the katakana of Montblanc) to differentiate with the original, is a cake dessert made of chestnut cream, chestnut puree and a soft layer of cake beneath. What Gumi eats in this fan-fiction is the Monburan, the Japanese version.

Cinnamon Roll (Also called cinnamon bun, or cinnamon swirl, even cinnamon snail) is a kind of pastry made of yeast with mixed cinnamon and sugar in the dough. It can be served with sugar, glaze, or raisins as a topping.

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end of chapter: Please wait for both the beta-read version and the next chapter too!

signing out, Ghost-Drive


	5. Slice four: RePel

*This has not been beta-read! Read at your own risks.

**Note: As Mizki doesn't have an official design, I used the "CUL" rendition by Masataka-P (that guy who makes a lot of Miku-Miku Dance (MMD) models. This rendition is what is used in the Vocamania stepping forums, so it's for the general convenience I guess.)

Thank you for dear reviewers! **Higashino Ruuya, Curious Sisters, vocal-maiden, **and **firedove **(glad to have you back!) you guys are the greatest.

Another thing to say (thanks for Curious Sisters for pointing this out) The beliefs and whatnot in my characters are not mine. When the characters dislike something does not mean that I, the author, hates it as well. Everything here is just a fictional story without any social purposes.

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"Len, would you… explain how we just teleported to some withered garden from Mizki's shop?" Rin almost growled when she said that. Hands crossed and foot tapping on the floor, she glared at Len, keeping a cursing mind about the disappearance of her current logic to herself.

"As I said… this is inside that girl's heart- or soul. Whatever fits you the best. And about how I did it…" Len stopped a bit, trying to find the correct words to elaborate the situation. "I just dragged you inside."

"**That **is the problem! How did you just drag a human into another human?"

"Long things made short… I only dragged the soul in, not the whole of you." Len explained, bracing himself from another shout from his current master. "Let's just backtrack what had happened…"

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Half past four in the afternoon, Rin and her self-proclaimed guardian spirit had arrived at the doorstep of the Nekomura Groceries. The door to the simplistic store was open, but Mizki, who was supposed to be the shop's clerk, was gone. Replacing the position was her six-year old little sister Nekomura Iroha, who was sitting behind the counter and playing with a miniature of a beckoning cat.

Rin slowly approached her, stood in front of the counter for a brief moment, and then called the pink-haired girl out.

The result was something extraordinary for a call almost as soft as a mere whisper. Iroha almost jumped, her attention completely removed from the toy. She even mouthed something- it sounds like "Eek!"

"Sorry for making you so surprised, Iroha." Rin apologized, patting the girl's back slightly. "I just wanted to shop… where's Mizki, by the way?"

"Mizki? Mizki? Mizki told me to sit here and be a good girl…" She asked out to no one in particular, looking from one side of the shop to another. "Mizki is… buying some cat food, I guess? Or maybe going to feed some cats? Or she's going to have a surprise? Ooh, I love surprises!"

"Is she always like this?" Len whispered, from his tone it was obvious that he was more than a little freaked out about the situation.

"Had been worse." The blonde girl answered, ruffling the hair of the 6-year old girl. "Be glad that you weren't here when she tends to throw candies at the foreheads of the people that approached her"

Len found himself unconsciously rubbing his temple. It was just then that Iroha released herself from the ruffling and looked towards Len's direction. At first, Rin was nervous and almost thought that Iroha could see him, but that idea was denied as quickly as it came when the pink-haired girl went right through Len and hugged the person behind him- Mizki.

"Welcome back, big sis!" she cheered, earning a gentle ruffling from the red-haired girl. Iroha smiled happily and returned to her place behind the counter. Mizki followed her, accidentally bumping into Rin into the process.

Clang!

The bag of groceries dropped into the floor, emitting a metallic sound before its upper contents of fruits and vegetables spilled out- quite a curious sound for a grocery bag. The red-haired girl quickly apologized to Rin and knelt to pick up the items. Out of goodwill, Rin imitated her actions, helping her return the items to the plastic bag.

"You don't really have to do it, Rin." Mizki told her as she put the last of the apples into the plastic bag. "I don't want to be a bother to a customer instead of serving them."

"Nah, that's all-"

Then a sharp pain assaulted Rin's head, enough to make her wince.

"What?" She questioned herself, unable to comprehend the reason of the pain. Her vision started to flicker like an old, rusted television, and suddenly she lost all connection to the outside world. What's left for her was silence and darkness.

Iroha wasn't there. Mizki wasn't there. Even Len wasn't there. She tried to move her hand- no, she didn't even manage to feel her limbs. It was as if the nerves in her brain were connecting to somewhere else other than their respective receptors.

The darkness in front of her slowly faded away. Rin peered through the small opening- but the opening showed her a scene she instantly regretted seeing.

She saw Mizki and Iroha in the back room. Iroha was happily playing with a Hello Kitty doll, when Mizki approached her slowly with the plastic bag on her hand.

She saw Mizki pull out a knife from the plastic bag. She saw Iroha, as innocent as she had always been, approaching her older sister with a curious look.

She saw the older sister raise and aim the knife into the younger one's chest…

"No!" Rin shouted, shutting her eyes.

It can't be true.

It can't be true.

It can't be true that Mizki is killing her younger sister.

"Rin? Can you hear me- Rin?" Mizki called out. When Rin opened her eyes, she was sweating. Her breath was badly ragged. But at least the real world has returned to her. Mizki was looking at her with a worried look, and Iroha was most of all curious. She also saw Len, more shocked than anything.

That's right; such a soft, warm-hearted Mizki would not kill her own sister.

But the bad feeling on her mind refused to fade away- it never hurts to check, just for safety.

"Mizki, what was that clanging voice from the plastic bag?"

Mizki's face turned from an expression of relief into shock, before the red-haired girl quickly tries to turn it into normal again. "I-it's… for dinner!" she gaped, cold sweat trickling down her face. "Yeah- it's for dinner! We're planning to have codfish pot today and the knife was already dull, so I think might as well buy a new knife!"

Rin nodded, and Mizki gave a long sigh of relief.

But it didn't make any sense to Rin.

First, it was weird for Mizki to get nervous all of a sudden. She was one that Rin would classify as a shy person, as she seldom talks a lot and almost never shouted- even when Iroha did things that was out of the tolerance of most people.

Second was the reason for buying the knife. Sharpening stones are sold in nearby stores, and are cheaper than knives, so why buy a new knife?

**She bought the knife to be able to dispose the evidence quickly without being suspicious.**

Rin shook her head- the hallucination was getting the better of her. After all, it cannot be true…

It can't be true.

It can't be true.

**It might be true.**

Rin felt a shiver ran down her spine. Len seemed to have noticed this, as he started to glare at Mizki, clear enmity seeping from his figure.

Rin wasn't one to believe in dreams, but strangely the pieces do connect. Disturbing as it was, Mizki did buy a knife. And the grocery bags in her vision and the real world was identical.

If anything could be done, she wanted to stop her. Not that she was an idealist that believed that no one should die- but Nekomura Iroha was her friend. So was Mizki. Seeing people in front of her crumble apart was just…

Sad? No, that was not the word.

The right one should be… **Disturbing**.

Then- a weird haze of black surrounded Mizki's figure. Rin would be happy to ask what that was, but something else interrupted her. It was Len. He stood between Rin and Mizki, anger visible through the face that had been virtually flat for the rest of the day, and grabbed Rin's hand.

Rin was taken aback by this- she had not expected him to act so suddenly. But what surprised her more was his grip. She was expecting her hand to pass through, as Iroha passed through him before, but the hand felt like real. Firm, but not the bone-crushing type of firm. She felt the clear intention to protect in that grip.

And as sudden as the grip came-

she was pulled into an abyss of darkness.

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"Yeah, I know, I know…" Rin grumbled, recalling the events. "What made you suddenly drag me inside, by the way? I don't have any business here!"

"You do." Len answered, earning Rin's total attention. "That dark haze- it was an evil intention. Something bad can be happening to people around her- I can be you on the worst case scenario. If we can affect the heart of this girl before the intention became action, we can stop the causalities."

"We can… stop it?"

That sentence alone flicked a light of hope inside Rin.

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**-Footnotes!-**

Thank you for following through with this chapter of the story- I hope it's good enough to spend time reading this!

I have something to say about reviews: They make me feel very good, so keep them coming. But even though I don't receive a lot of reviews, doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing.

"Don't write that the readers want, but make the readers want what you write" – I don't know who said that, but that's my base of motivation.

Author, logging out.


	6. Slice 5: ReCollect

*note: This has not been beta-Read! Read at your own risks.

** Looking for additional Beta Reader: Even though my main beta-reader is Sweet Lolita Kisses, there may be times where she becomes unavailable. Like, maybe now. In regards of the possibility of the situation to be repeated, another Beta-Reader would be nice. Please note you will be acting as the main beta until she contacts me, though.

*** Beliefs held by the characters are not mine, just something I picked off of my imaginations to help strengthen the characters. Please note I'm not very happy with it either, but people need to have flaws and whatnot.

Thank you for the reviewers: **Higashino Ruuya, vocal-maiden, Curious Sisters, XxRedCapxX, **and **CluelessLeaf. **And everybody who fav-ed and alert-ed too! Tell me if you want your names here too, I'll see what I can do.

For the **DISCLAIMER** I have been forgetting to say for a very long period of time: VOCALOID and VOCALOID 2 belong to Yamaha. Voice Banks are copyrighted by their respective companies. References are from Mahou Sensei Negima, Ar Tonelico, Shounen Onmyoji, Rurouni Kenshin, and an ever growing list of shows. Let's not forget good old Wikipedia as well.

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Stopping 'the future' takes a lot from one person.

First, the person will have to face the causalities of the changed future, be it bad or good.

Second was the amount of effort to change even the most minor of things; which most people had considered as too much for the outcome.

Third was the fact that one has to sacrifice something to save the other. The works of fate cannot be meddled even by sacrificing one's life, as long as the person is "Human".

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"Repeat what you said before, Len!" Rin urged, shaking the ghost in front of her with as much force as possible. "Is it really possible to stop Mizki?"

If what she saw earlier was some kind of 'vision', stopping it will be almost impossible. Don't even talk about stopping it, it's just impossible to try without taking any major risks.

"I don't really know what you are so eager to stop…" Len pushed the blonde girl away before continuing with the explanation. "But it is possible. In one's soul we can manipulate the mind and actions of the person. If a ghost is doing this, it can also be called 'possessing'."

"Wait a second- it'd be too easy if a spirit can easily take over another creature." If that was the case, would people around her get possessed?

"Of course not…" Len looked into the depths of the withered garden. There stood a red-haired girl, with a butchering knife on both hands. Her deep red eyes were trying to burn a hole to the two outsiders of the soul's boundary- to the 'danger' threatening to take over the soul's core. "There is a defense mechanism to prevent instant takeovers from happening- something like an antibody to fight off unknown visitors. This antibody will try to eliminate any intruders, including us in the current state."

"Mizki…!" Rin was about to approach the girl when she found an arm before her- preventing her to step any further. She gave a sharp glare to the owner of the arm, Len, and tried to push her way through. But the powers of an ordinary girl would never match a man with a trained body, no matter how much she tried.

"Look carefully, Rin- This is not the girl; just a copy made by this place's defense system!" Len warned while keeping his right arm stretched in front of Rin, both acting as a limit and a shield. His left hand was placed on his sword's handle, ready to pull it out when the situation urged him to do so.

"Why are you here?" The red-haired girl asked, her knives glinting below the dim light from above the scenery. "Is it to make the core's situation even worse than it already is?" that was clearly not an act of hospitality, as Rin was already getting pissed off from the inside by how this replica was acting very differently from the original shy and soft-spoken Mizki.

"I don't think she'll listen to any arguments…" Rin muttered, her eyes returning the same amount of hostility as the copy Mizki was emitting,

"Glad we have the same thoughts." Len replied, gripping even tighter to the handle of his sword. "Listen, Rin. The real Mizki… the core of the soul should be deeper inside this place. I will fend off the copy, while you have to find the core. Once you find her, cleanse her of the evil intentions."

"But- how can I do that?" Rin whispered a complaint. "I don't even know what's happening here; I'm not some knowledgeable person like my mother or something!"

"Then, just talk her out of it! You're good at talking people off, right? Talk to her, tell her what she was going to do was wrong, make her regret even thinking about it!"

Rin gulped. She never thought she had to do it on her own friend. She wouldn't mind battering down some strangers with her words, but this is-

"Make up your mind quickly! Are you my master or not?"

That sentence which came from Len's mouth made Rin did an instant double take. "What did you say just now?"

"I said 'Master'!" Len almost yelled. "I'll even say it a hundred times if needed- just make up your mind and go!"

Rin gulped. She was being cornered by both him and her own ego. After all, she was the one who had agreed to the master-servant bond from the start, there was no way she was going to deny it right now. Trying not to look back, she immediately dashed to the deeper part to the withered garden.

All she could catch from the scenery behind her were merely voices and sounds. She could hear the replica Mizki, trying to stop her dash, and the hissing of Len's sword as it was pulled out of its sheath.

There is no turning back now. She had to see this through if she wanted to return to reality.

She felt tears running down her cheeks. Not because her own fate, not because of Mizki, but for the swordsman fighting behind her.

The only wish she had thought at the moment was of his safety.

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Blows after blows were exchanged. Len was forced into a defensive position from the replica's inhumane speed. Her knives were striking hard against his sword, each blow were heavy and as if intended to break his sword into two.

Len could easily take an opening in the frenzy of slashes and rush in, but he didn't want to take the risks to wound himself mortally. In the soul, even spirits have a given form, a mortal state of existence. If one was to die inside, it would mean absolute death on the outside as well. While the replica can be reproduced as many times as possible as long as the core exists. It does not work that way for him. His state inside this world is just the same as a normal human.

"My techniques are getting blunt…" Len commented out of self-pity. The replica was able to attack with all its abilities knowing that the core will heal it once it was damaged. Keeping a defensive stance until Rin had finished her task was the only thing he could do at the current situation. If he was to go for the offensive, the core would take damage trying to recover too much of the antibody- this was why most possessed people ended up with a daze afterwards. One way to beat the antibody was to break the core, however…

Killing the core is the same as ending that person's life.

But dis-infecting the core, which was the main part of this fuss, was a harder thing to do. Len was sure that he would never be able to do it, even he was to die and be born again infinity times.

But he was very convinced that Rin would be able to achieve that impossible thing- no, more exactly she was the only one able to do it.

Except, maybe, the person who had done such a miracle in front of him; Rui Kagene.

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Rin arrived in what seemed to be the center of the garden; an opening from the line of withered cherry trees and rugged stones. A lone figure was standing there- Mizki, walking around in circles with her head hung down.

"I have decided this myself, right…?" the red-haired girl told no one in particular. She looked at her hand sadly, hesitating even to do so. The way she stared was as if there was something on it- something gruesome and enough to make her wince. "I had decided it… so I have to do it…"

Though, she was not sure. She cannot be sure. Who could be sure to do something like that…?

"I need to do this… I have to…" she muttered again, this time holding herself from the verge of crying. "I just… couldn't take it anymore…"

"Do what, Mizki?" A voice startled Mizki out of her wild thoughts, its tone suggesting irritation coming from the speaker. With a soft gasp, Mizki turned around to see her friend, Rin Kagamine, tapping her right foot in the ground with a frown etched on the face.

"Rin…" Her eyes widened as she said that. What was Rin doing in this place? What was she talking about? She looked at her again, feeling somewhat afraid, to meet with the blue eyes that demanded answer from her. But, what kind of answer was she expecting?

"So, you were talking to yourself just now. Doing what, exactly? I couldn't hear clearly, the air here is as thick as caramel." Rin kept herself from being nervous. From her tone and movements, it was clear that this is the real Mizki. She had to be careful; Len said she should batter her down and make her regret, but it seemed to her that she was already regretting what she was about to do. And she didn't want to hurt her friend mentally, for heaven's sake.

Mizki gulped a bubble of air, cold sweat running down her face, "Were you listening, Rin…?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Rin heaved a sigh. Mizki seemed pretty fragile- too fragile to flatten down with a steamroller of words as she had planned earlier. And it seemed she would try to avoid the conversation again, the same thing that happened when she had tried to ask her about the knife outside this unknown dimension.

"Well… yes, I was listening." Rin confessed, prying off any tone in her voice that could give Mizki the wrong impression. "I'm curious about what you said- about not being able to take something anymore."

Mizki shifted uneasily, then cut Rin off before she could continue her sentence with another one. "It's not about that!" she denied, her voice high of the panic she was feeling. "It's not what you might think it is!"

Rin nodded to the affirmation of her guess. Mizki did try to avoid the conversation. And to Rin's measures, the red-haired girl was horrible at hiding truths, if the troubled expression and increased movement was not any indication.

"Well, it's a random guess…" that was a lie, Rin knew of what she had said. "But is it about your little sister- Iroha?"

Mizki flinched hearing what Rin called as her random guess. She looked away from her, unable to face her without a good denial. But it was futile. Rin kept staring at her, as if she was going to follow her even she was to run away to the edge of horizon.

"Rin…" Mizki turned to face the blonde again, uncertainty filling her eyes. "Why do you want to know about it?" Rin perked up- it seems Mizki had finally gave in- the only thing she had to do is to keep this soft and peek into the problem she was having- the big problem that had caused the killing intent.

"Me?" Rin asked to confirm, even though it was all too clear that was no one except the two girls in the vicinity. "If anything, it's because you looked so troubled, Mizki. How can I ignore it…?"

"How can I ignore it **if you are planning a murder against your own sister?**" Rin emphasized. That went rougher than she had expected, and is somewhat shocking to just tell on someone's face, but her feelings told her to finish this quickly.

Mizki's eyes widened to the point her pupils were just small dots, but Rin didn't give her a chance to counter. "If you just want to cut fish and the knife went blunt, you could have just bought a sharpening stone- no, you can even take it out from one of the shop's drawers. Why bother buying a knife just for that purpose? Or did the codfish pot suddenly change its ingredients to human meat?"

Actually, Rin was wincing mentally on what she had just said- saying it took some of her sense of good and bad and crushed it into unidentified bits and pieces; what Mizki took of it must be much, much harder.

"You don't understand…" what Mizki said almost sounded like a whimper, accompanied with several sobs to give a pause between the words. "It's not… it's not that I hate her, but… I don't know… what will happen to the rest of us if I let this on…"

"Let what on?" Rin kept interrogating, forcing herself to temporarily ignoring the slightly overwhelming sense of guilt that assaulted her when she saw the heart-wrenching response. That sentence she had just said apparently broke her down a bit, but it seemed that the method managed to get her to confess.

"Iroha had lots and lots of problems in the school; she was very violent when she was in class. Even though she's a sweet girl once she's home… I don't know why she seems to hate the school, screaming to be returned home at time and throwing something at her classmate on the other. It never seems to stop."

Rin's heart feels like it had just been rinsed with acid. Mizki was left alone with a mentally incapable younger sister and a shop to take care of when her parents passed away, which was about three years ago, but she was a mature girl of her age and managed to do both perfectly- though sacrificing her school. She abruptly stopped going to school when she had to take care of the shop and babysit Iroha- but she did enlist Iroha to the elementary school nearby.

Three years ago, Iroha was uncontrollable. She would ask every day where her parents went, and when people answered that they were no more she'd bite at them. When she had learned to understand what the meaning of 'death' was, she got violent and threw things at people who got neat to her.

That was one thing Rin would be proud of her – Mizki was very patient, and she would endure anything that Iroha did to her. Once she ended up with a bandage along her right hand because of the bites and scratches, but she would never complain. Rin would declare with no hesitation that Mizki was an ideal older sister, but… why…?

"Why, Iroha?" Rin asked again, this time also feeling the sadness that emitted from Mizki's crying figure. "Why is all this happening?

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**Footnotes!**

I know the chapter's cut in a somewhat inappropriate place, but if I do it longer it would be disproportional against the rest of the chapter that never went more than 2500 words long. Next chapter will cover the last part of this case, and more of what most Rin-Len fangirls had been waiting for- a little fluff for the soul.

Time for a favorite quote as always:

"One cannot improve without people who help him to, but it's no use if the person helping just hides in secrecy."


	7. slice6: RePent

-This chapter has not been Beta-Read! Read at your own risk-

With Sweet Lolita Kisses back in contact, I'll be updating the chapters with their beta-read versions over time. However I don't want to bother her too much, so I'll let her finish one job at a time before beta-reading the new chapters.

Thank you for the reviewers: Ness Caelum, CluelessLeaf, XxRed CapxX, Toan Daxland, CuriousSisters and Higashino Ruuya. Thanks a lot, and forgive me that I cannot update for a long time! I sprained my leg bad and have to be bed-ridden for a good one week…

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_No matter what you do, in this modern world, it should be certain what matters the most. No matter what part of the world, no matter which part of the world you live in, one thing is certain if you are still a human living in a society._

_You need something that will please the society to continue living with comfort inside it. No matter what, it's a give and take connection we are all living in._

"Iroha, is it true that you attacked your own classmate?" Mizki had asked her little sister with concern. On that day, one of the student's parents had called to Mizki and complained of the ruckus that her little sister made- and asked her for a compensation for it.

_In the modern society, you cannot just take the pleasure of them. Even though you are wounded, bruised, maimed, or disabled, nobody would care; the pities they are showing are just a façade with a certain goal._

_The goal is a certain retribution that is offered by whom they pity._

"I did?" Iroha gave her elder sister a questioning look. "I did? Did I? I don't understand…" she said quietly, avoiding the gaze of her older sister. Each time Mizki had that sad look on her, Iroha never wanted to see it. But she finally gave up and returned the gaze with teary eyes. Has she given up in hiding things anymore? Or is it the realization that the sad look will be carved on her older sister's face as long as she does not admit her fault?

"But… but…" the pink-haired girl sobbed, putting her tiny head on the older one's lap. "They called you stupid, they called you an idiot, because I cannot understand what the teachers are talking about, they said it was because of pity they let me in the school…"

The sisters stared at each other in silence. After a silent nod from Mizki, the girl cried. She cried so loudly that the nearby sparrows flew away from the front gate they had perched into, leaving the already closed store with more silence. The gentle afternoon breeze, the monotonous ticking of the old clock, even the orange-tinted sky failed to calm her down.

Seeing her sister cry like this, crying just like little girls do when they are bullied, Mizki gritted her teeth. Just the sight pierces Mizki's heart like a rusted thorn- the world is never fair. It's even less fair for the people on the lower scale of justice.

Mizki looked at her wallet- looking at what few money she had in possession. That lady had just sucked half of her saving for 'hospitalization', some kind of possibly unimaginable hospitalization after getting stabbed at the arm with a mere ballpoint pen. She could not help but agree with Iroha – if the parent is that screwed up, having a child of horrible manners could have been unavoidable karma on her part.

Mizki could not enlist her little sister to a special school for 'her kind', it just felt unfair. The school let her in because it was the school Mizki had attended in her childhood, but the parents did not seem to agree. It is, after all, a school for 'normal people'. Why let in someone with a mental disorder? Someone who can snap to rage at any given time? So, when the chance came…

Everything is her fault. Mizki felt guilty just enlisting her if she had known it would be like this. She only wanted her to be happy. She wanted her to experience the education in school like she would never feel anymore. She wanted her to find happy memories… but why is it the total opposite which comes upon them?

_When someone is no longer able to provide the retribution, be it fame, money, or merely the feeling of delight, they are no longer considered the part of the society._

_This is what they call a 'freak', which attending to require more trouble than it's worth. The 'freaks' are trashes of the society, dried-up wells with no more water to be sucked from._

"Big sister, am I a freak? That's what people in school said, I think they are mean." Iroha's pleading eyes and that question was a strong enough weapon to break a part of Mizki's heart. "I don't want to go to school. I want to stay at the store and help you, sister. I don't want to see the mean people."

Mizki hung her head low. She swallowed a bubble of air, cursing at herself. She didn't want Mizki to suffer anymore. But that's the sad part in one's life. It's not that humans are mean at heart, but they had adapted to the power governing over them, the power that had lasted for as long as she remembered. Adapted to the term 'mean', or 'evil'- consciously doing what is 'mean' for the sake of merely surviving, or even just to fulfill one's desire. Iroha cannot stay blind to this mean world, she have to adapt or she would have to suffer more.

At worst, she could die trying…

_She would die…_

Why did that sentence appealed to her so much? Has she given up trying? She was indeed desperate, but her mind told her that was not the cause.

No matter what she might do, Iroha would probably never align to her surroundings. Maybe she would stay the 'freak' she is and suffer the more the made contact with the harsher parts of the society. Mizki could never stay there forever; there will be the time that she would die, when she would have to leave her to tend for herself.

When that time comes, what will happen to Iroha?

When that possibility came to mind, Iroha being dead just trying seemed to be a better example than the rest of the contents of her already hazy mind.

But… what if Iroha's life ended right here, right now? She would not have to suffer; she wouldn't have to worry about the future. The thought that Mizki had been blocking off her head for the past few months resurfaced- the grim thought that Iroha would never, ever obtain a good future.

She looked at her hand which had been comforting Iroha. A pang of regret overcame her, trying to wash out the single speck of intention that emerged on her brain which contains The thought of ending the suffering; the thought of killing Iroha.

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"So, you consider your intentions as 'pity-killing', like those in the movies?" Rin gave a piercing stare at Mizki, who in return nodded meekly.

Ten minutes has passed since Rin's entrance to this strange space called "heart", to converse personally with Mizki and stop her intentions to kill Iroha. After some efforts and a little bit morale-crushing, Rin was able to make the red-haired girl spill the story that started it all.

"That's one of the most stupid excuses I've never heard."

It was cold. If Mizki could sense anything from what Rin had just said, it would be the plain coldness of both the sentence and the expression Rin was showing when she said it. No compassion, no kindness, just the pure blunt truth. Mizki could only watch in awe as Rin moved closer to her and whisper to her ear.

"If you don't even trust your own little sister, you're even lower than her. Don't even think of killing her, maybe you're the one who deserved death."

She was lower than her sister? Mizki felt something short-circuited in her brain as it tries to both accept and deny the sentence aimed towards her.

No, it can't be.

She was the one to care for her sister, so it must be a lie. She had to cook for two people's worth and earn money for the living for two people, so that must be a lie. She enlisted Iroha in school when she even quitted, so that must be a lie. Iroha made a ruckus because someone in the class insulted Mizki, so it must be a lie. Iroha was sad because Mizki was suffering, so that must be a lie. Iroha was a freak and Mizki was the sane one, **so it must be a lie**. Mizki wanted to kill her because she was out of options so it is a lie. **It is a lie. IT IS A LIE!**

_Or is it? What is right? What is wrong? Who is at fault?_

"Wouldn't you get over your self-denying?" Rin scolded the person on front of her. "Or are you going to waste our time just standing around? Or make me an object of pity like you did to Iroha?"

"What do you mean by an object of pity? I never…" she trailed off, but stopped when she caught upon Rin's point. "No, that's wrong." She said, with a smile that erased all the bad predicaments in Rin's heart. "She is my sister. I know I am wrong from the start, so I keep telling lies to myself. There's no one to tell me what's right or wrong as I'm supposed to be the mature one, but there's one now, and I'm thankful for that."

Rin smiled- she was having the wrong mindset about her after all. She could dig some more info out of her, but there was no point going rough from the start; the reason she started all this was to find out the motives. After that part is done, the only thing she needed to do is to move on to the conclusion.

The blonde smiled, and without any warning took the redhead's hand, pulling her into a hug.

"U-uh… Rin…" Mizki stammered with her head almost redder than her hair. "Why are you doing this…? It's of… awkward…"

Rin tightened her grip onto her friend's body. "You haven't been hugged by somebody who cared for you, right? For all these years, you gave people your care and naturally, they grew attached to you. It's only a one-way road for you; you never get your shared love back and endured through it."

Mizki fell silent, but she then gave back a nod, coupled with a smile. She could not explain the feeling when Rin said she cared. It felt like lifting the weight pushed down into her for years, until the person forgot what "comfort" and "discomfort" is.

"So, can you give a little more trust to your little sister? I know that you don't hate her. You cared for her, right? Then just give her the chance you can give to her."

Mizki felt her eyes welling up with more tears. Same substance, same gland producing it, but something was different.

It was not sadness, not happiness either. The tears kept flowing down in droplets, each representing the regret in Mizki's heart. She had mistrusted Iroha, one of her own blood. She had doubted the only family she had. If something was to happen to Iroha, who would protect her, except for her family? If Iroha cannot do it, she only needed someone to support her to move on. And who else could it be but Mizki?

"I'm sorry…" Mizki slowly whispered.

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"You're not going anywhere!"

Len retreated at the sound, his sword readied to block the oncoming blow. It has been fifteen minutes since they had arrived. His body was getting weaker by the moment. Rin had to make it. She had to. He believed that she can make it.

Then a bright light came from where Rin had gone to. The light from there was formerly dim, but it was now rivaling the radiance of the sun itself. It was so bright that it disturbed his vision, reducing the colors into bleached white.

"Something's tickling me from below…" Len decided to throw out his curiosity and focused on the approaching figure before him, expecting a blow…

But it never came. Along with the quickly growing grass beneath his feet, the clone Mizki's figure had stopped its movements and dropped her knives into the ground.

"It seems that that friend of yours had healed the core, warrior." She spoke with a gentle face. "Then I should not be needed here. Go to her if you wish, it's about time you return."

It didn't take long for Len to begin running into Rin's direction. The clone Mizki watched him disappear from her sight and whispered, letting the wind to catch and deliver it to him.

"And thank you for not going all out, I couldn't afford for this place to be destroyed."

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When Rin opened her eyes, what she saw was a blur of green and pink. Her head was spinning as if she had just ridden a rollercoaster. It was almost the same as when she had arrived inside Mizki's soul, if not worse. The feeling of nausea and dizziness were almost overbearing, as if throwing up the contents of her stomach was one of the best possible courses of action to dispel her discomfort.

"Where… am I?" She whispered, for the scenery in front of her wasn't anywhere close to the Nekomura Groceries. She felt the softness beneath her; it was of a cotton pillow. Then, this is…

"What are you thinking, Rin?" came a shout that left Rin's ears a ringing mess. "If you don't feel very well, then don't go with me and rest in your room! Look at what you have done to yourself, when Iroha called for me you were pale and unmoving like a corpse! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Stop… shouting, Gumi…" Rin croaked out, unable to find the energy she needs to talk back to her green-haired friend. In fact, she couldn't even think with the buzzing and spinning head of hers. The guess was just because what the voice said was identical to what Gumi would have said.

"…Geez, I don't care anymore!" the voice whined, "Just take a good rest for now, I'll take you home after you wake up."

"Yeah, I'll do just that…" Rin closed her eyes once more, ready to move into a slumber, when blur of yellow came upon her vision.

"Welcome back, master. I am glad you returned safe and sound." He said. The sentence was made as formal as possible, but the happiness that was inside cannot be hidden very well.

"I'm back…"

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A/N: Whoops, what happened with the fluff I just promised you guys? *bangs head* I'm not good at this kind of thing… I fear making the weird… kind of fluff.

Next: (teasertrailercough) Len decided to enter Rin's heart in order to find what's inside…


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